Tuesday, November 29, 2016

That Time of Year

Has it really been 3 weeks since I last posted? Shame on me. All I can say for myself is that it is "that time of year".

You know the time of which I speak. In theory it seems that everything should be slowing down a bit as the weather gets colder and the days get shorter. Of course, that is not reality. The reality is that while the days may, indeed, be getting shorter as in "less daylight" but the demands on our time seem to remain ever vigilant. PLUS...holiday preparation rears it's demanding little head, nagging us to be strategically planning for Thanksgiving/Christmas/Hanuka/Kwanzaa and/or whatever holidays you have going for you.

Currently I am sporting a bit of a cynical attitude. ( I know...shocking isn't it?) I am feeling a bit saddened that Thanksgiving got over shadowed by Christmas decorations and the anticipation of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. While this has been going on for several years, it appeared to me that Black Friday is now usurping the whole meaning of Thanksgiving and hogging the month with weeks and weeks of PRE-Black Friday deals and steals.

With all that being said, I am clearly in the minority here with my negativity on the subject. A early analysis of the numbers tells us that 154 million people were out shopping over the weekend. The fact that since all the pre-black Friday advertising began (supposedly) people have spent around 36 Billion (yea...billion with a B) dollars.

I have to think that perhaps I am not alone in my inner conflicts. It seems to me that the whole country talks about the season of love and thankfulness in the same breath as they are spending hours scrutinizing the Internet and paper ads looking for the big bargains that they are hoping to get on more STUFF.

Not to be a total party-pooper, I typically find my holiday spirit in holiday baking, Christmas music, and all the pretty holiday decorations. OH and I do love a lot of the Hallmark Christmas movies. Sure you can say they are sappy, but I think they are sweet. I am prepared to immerse myself into holiday movies to remind me that everything about the holidays is about love and joy and has the added bonus of a happy ending. Not reality you say???

Reality is a thing of the past according to the rise of virtual reality head gear. I was reading an article about the newest techy devices on the market to stream VR programming. Let me be the first to say that I would totally embrace a virtual world where children are awestruck by the lights and sounds of the holidays. I suspect though that just as with many other things, young children are so inundated with the commercialism of Christmas that they no longer even notice how special the decorations are let alone the meaning of it all. The added component of decorations coming out in August (or is it now July?) doesn't help foster awe.

I know this picture is grainy as it is 60 plus years old but this is a picture taken in Kankakee, Illinois. It was, in fact, taken nearly a year prior to my birth but Schuyler Avenue remained pretty much the same through my childhood. I LOVED going Christmas shopping and seeing all the Christmas lights. Sadly, the wreaths that were put on every light pole are not terribly pretty in a black and white photo but to my little child eyes they were magical. It was looking not so differently 17 years later when I got my engagement ring at Edward's Jewelry...also at Christmas time.

Anyway as I was saying...where is the magic? If we now require head gear to live in alternate, virtual reality shouldn't THAT be magical and wonderful???

In the same paper that was talking about the choices we now have for virtual reality head gear there was a separate article about a virtual reality program that allows you to actually feel what it is like to die in a traffic accident. Yeah, how much fun is that? I can hardly wait to ask Santa for some of that escapism....well that is if I can't find it online in a POST Black Friday give away.

The placement of Black Friday being the day after Thanksgiving seems questionable.

Hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving and have plenty to be grateful for.